Magic In Music
by queencestqueen
Summary: Various Queencest one-shots that are inspired by various song lyrics. Each chapter is unrelated to the previous ones, unless otherwise stated.


**Title:** Magic in Music  
 **Author:** QueencestQueen  
 **Pairings:** Oliver/Thea (aka Queencest and/or Tholiver)  
 **Rating:** Various (This chapter: G)  
 **Summary:**  
Various Queencest one-shots that are inspired by various song lyrics. Each chapter is unrelated to the previous ones, unless otherwise stated.

 **Song for this One-shot:** Piece by Piece by Kelly Clarkson

 **Notes/Warnings:**  
\- Italicized words are thoughts.

 **Disclaimer:**  
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of this author. This author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

 _ **I made something of myself and now you wanna come back**_  
 _ **But your love, it isn't free, it has to be earned**_

Something was wrong with Thea. It was mostly in the little things that, if Oliver was anyone else, he might not have picked up on. She'd been uncharacteristically agreeable lately, she was staying in more, and going to bed early. Anyone else might write this off as Thea simply growing up, but Oliver knew better. His sister was already an adult, forced to grow up rather quickly due to circumstance. This was something else entirely. Something he couldn't pin down and something he couldn't mention either.

Until the day he caught her quietly sobbing over a commercial, of all things, that is. He briefly stopped as he rounded the couch, picking up their remote from where it was balanced between the cushions, and shut off the television. The couch shifting under his weight as he sat beside her.

"Okay, Thea, what's going on?" As he watched, Thea turned her head towards the balcony and tried discreetly wiping her eyes. It was a futile effort for he already knew that she had been crying.

"Nothing. I just..." She hesitated, "that commercial is touching."

He looked back at the now black screen above their fireplace. Her answer didn't ring true. "The commercial about becoming a foster parent?" He looked back at her, skeptically. Sure, it was a well-done advertisement, but it was nothing worth tears. After all, the young man ended up in a happy home and his foster mother fixed his messed up haircut. It was a relatively happy commercial. _Not like those ASPCA commercials..._

"Something's wrong, Speedy, and it's been troubling you for a while now."

Thea sighed, knotting her hands together in her lap. Her green eyes stared down at her hands as though she were searching for the meaning of life in her own skin. Oliver waited, a wealth of patience available to him when it came to his sister.

"He made me a murderer, Ollie." Her words were sad and jagged, cutting into Oliver worse than any weapon ever had. He hated that Thea was dealing with this. He hated Malcolm for having done this to her; but most of all, he hated himself for not protecting her from Malcolm and his evil. He should have foreseen it. That was his job as her big brother. He'd failed her. "He's made me a villain and left me to the wolves." Finally, she raised her gaze to meet Oliver's. The heartbreak and pain reflected in those familiar eyes broke his heart. "He's still here, but he doesn't really care about me, does he? As soon as I'm no longer of use to him, he'll abandon me, won't he?"

Oliver opened his mouth, the reassuring lie on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't say it. He'd promised himself, now that every lie was out in the open between them, that he'd only tell her the truth. Besides, he rationalized, what good would it do Thea to tell her a lie. Despite the fact that his instincts all screamed at him to protect her, he said, "Probably. It would not be the first time."

For a fraction of a second, Thea looked shocked that he had not said what she had expected, but then resignation set in. Both of them remembered what happened when Malcolm cut Tommy off simply because he wasn't willing to do as Malcolm ordered.

"Hey," Oliver said, unable to withstand the feelings of sorrow that poured off Thea. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. "It doesn't matter what he does, okay? I will always be here for you." He reached out and turned her face so that she would see the sincerity in his features. "You will never, ever, be alone again, Speedy. Not if I have anything to say about it."

As he watched, a myriad of emotions played themselves out behind Thea's eyes. First came her initial reaction of denial; it was, he had learned over the past three years, Thea's attempt to protect herself. If she didn't let herself believe him then she couldn't be hurt when he eventually failed to keep his word. On its tail was uncertainty. Could she really trust him when he had a track record of lying to her? It stung to see it, but uncertainty was chased away by vulnerability. She wanted so badly to trust that he meant what he'd said. Finally, acceptance, which quickly mingled with love as she turned slightly and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Ollie." Her words were whispered into his neck, making goosebumps rise on his skin.

"Of course, Thea, " He pressed a soft kiss into her hair. "No matter what stupid decision Malcolm makes, I'll be at your side. You're stuck with me, Speedy."

 _ **But piece by piece, he collected me up**_  
 _ **Off the ground, where you abandoned things and**_  
 _ **Piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me**_  
 _ **[...]**_  
 _ **He never walks away**_  
 _ **He never asks for money**_  
 _ **He takes care of me**_  
 _ **'Cause he loves me**_

* * *

 **A/N:** Just a little something to rejuvenate my muse. :)


End file.
